Well, i don't think I'm ever going to buy, paint, or even look at another Valkyrie kit again! This is the 6th and final one for my Elysian list, and I'm very glad that they're all done. Same colour scheme, weathering, etc as the other 5!

Thanks for the scenic base suggestion from Col. Corbane! I really liked the idea of the cracked wadi, and this is what i went with! I used some modeling styrene to make the 'frame' of the wadi, and this was then covered in MilliPut for texture and detail. The little streams were then easy to sculpt into the wall of the wadi. The floor of the wadi will be covered in Water Effects and will hopefully resemble a shallow stream! I'll paint the base accordingly before i apply the water effects. I would really like to add some vegetation to this base as well, but i haven't got any in my bits box at the moment. I think I'll come back to that at a later date.

The back of the Wadi was covered up with plasticard, pinned and glued in place. This will be painted black.

And finally some more on the Kabalite Warriors. In my last post I'd said that I'd have these guys all done by the end of today! But i didn't realise how soul destroying double highlighting all those angles on the armour plating would be! So i limited today's work on them to 5 warriors to preserve my sanity! I'm liking the snow bases even more in the group shot, and i really think it makes the models a little more interesting!

Monday, 29 November 2010

I completed my test model for the Dark Eldar today! As i described in my last post, i went with the icy blue scheme to tie in with the winter snow base. The blue trim isn't quite as icy as I'd pictured, but I'm happy with it. I'm also quite happy with the base, but i may do a little more work on the granite bits - they seem a little basic!

And here's the rest of the squad well on their way to completion! They should be done by the end of tomorrow! Please, let me know what you think!

Sunday, 28 November 2010

Well, im glad to be home after a FREEZING week at Centre Parcs in Longleat! I recomend that no-one goes there this time of year!!!

I have admittedly been firmly bitten by the Dark Eldar bug, and I'm finally making preparations to start building a new Dark Eldar army! I have been waiting for about a week and a half for some snow bases to come from the guys at Micro Art Studios (who are based in Poland!) and they arrived on Friday! So this evening saw some frantic Kabalite building!

Here are the bases i received, five 25mm Winter Shale Bases as well as two 40mm ones. They're nothing that special, but it'll make the models a little more interesting. I'll see how they paint up and decide if i want to buy some more.

So far I'm happy with the bases as the models seem to fit nicely. The squad below is one of two identical squads: 1 Splinter Cannon and 9 Kabalite Warriors with Splinter Rifles.

I'm going to go with a black and blue colour scheme; black armour with a striking blue edge to it. This is why i decided to go with snow bases, to keep a cold feel to the army! Plus, I've never done an army on snow bases, so it'll make a nice change!

As well as the bases arriving, i also received the guy who will stand in as my Archon. As much as i liked the new GW Archon, i wanted to have a look around the other miniature studios to see if there was anything that stood out a bit. This is the guy i found and he was purchased from Studio McVey, based in the UK. The pics looked amazing and the quality of the model is superb! The dynamic pose, the malicious looking blades and most importantly, the pointy ears, all made this guy a great candidate for an Archon! I will have to do a bit of work on him to make him a true Dark Eldar, but it wont be much. I will have to ditch one of the punch-daggers and replace it with a Splinter Pistol as per my army list, along with a Phantasm Grenade Launcher on the back. I'm going to lavish lots of attention on this guy, its the least the model deserves! I highly recommend checking out Studio McVeys website as they're are some great mini's on there!

This is the picture from the Studio McVey website which gives you a clearer picture of what he'll look like. I'll probably mount him on one of the 40mm bases, but I'm not sure it I'll include the stalactite bits.

﻿

And finally, my 1750pts Dark Eldar Army List. As usual I've gone for as much balance as possible. I like to take to the field being able to cope with as many threats as possible! Let me know what you think!

Dark Eldar 1750pt Army List

HQArchon – 110pts

• Archon with Splinter Pistol-60pts

• Venom Blade-5pts

• Combat Drugs-10pts

• Ghostplate Armour-10pts

• Phantasm Grenade Launcher-25pts

Leleth Hesperax – 175ptsElitesIncubi – 150pts

• 5 Incubi–110pts

• Klaivex Upgrade-15pts

• Bloodstone – 15pts

• Murderous Assault-10pts

Raider Transport – 70pts

• Disintegrator Cannon–free

• Flickerfield-10pts

Kabalite Trueborn – 190pts

• 10 Trueborn-120pts

• 6 Shardcarbines-30pts

• 2 Blasters-30pts

• 2 Shredders – 10pts

Raider Transport – 70pts

• Dark Lance–free

• Flickerfield-10pts

TroopsKabalite Warriors – 100pts

• Splinter Cannon-10pts

Kabalite Warriors – 100pts

• Splinter Cannon-10pts

Wyches – 135pts

• 10 Wyches-100pts

• Hekatrix with Venom Blade-15pts

• 2 Hydra Guntlets-20pts

Raider Transport – 60pts

• Disintegrator Cannon-free

• Shock Prow – 5pts

Wyches – 125pts

• 9 Wyches-90pts

• Hekatrix with Venom Blade-15pts

• 2 Hydra Guntlets-20pts

Raider Transport – 60pts

• Dark Lance –free

• Shock Prow – 5pts

Fast AttackReavers – 162pts

• 4 Reavers with Splinter Rifles-132pts

• 2 Reavers with Blasters-30pts

Heavy SupportRavenger – 115pts

• 3 Dark Lances

• Night Shield-10pts

Ravenger – 115pts

• 3 Disintegrator Cannons

• Night Shield-10pts

1747pts

So tomorrow will see a lot of Kabalite painting and work on the final Vendetta gunship for the Elysians (that kindda got pushed to the back of the painting que!)

Friday, 19 November 2010

Well here's an original picture - yet ANOTHER Valkyrie on the painting table! Fortunately this is the last one for the Elysians, and will be the second of the Vendetta Gunships.

I've has this guy for a few days now, but my Army Painter Primer ran out halfway though spraying (DOH!) so I've been waiting for another! That came today, and with the completion of the prime, the basic colours are now on.

My trouble isn't with the Vendetta though, its with its base. This will be the 6th scenic flying base I've done for the army, but I'm out of ideas!! What i need is a cool desert themed idea to go on this base, and this is where you come in, dedicated followers! If you have any ideas for the base, then please let me know! I'm really stuck on this one, so any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thursday, 18 November 2010

Firstly, I took my Elysians for their first outing yesterday. Two games, one draw one win. Started with everything on the table for the first game which was Objectives with Standard Deployment. That didnt go to well, but the ensuing carnage ensured that not a single objective was claimed! Second game, Capture and Control with Standard Deployment. This time i kept all but the two Vendettas and a Vulture in reserve. The results were fantastic, desimating a Blood Angels army and retaining contol of my objective, while he left his objective to try and engage me. Units in reserve from no on methinks!

While im waiting for some more Elysian Drop Sentinels to arrive, i decided to make a start on a modular gaming table. This ideas been on the back burner for AGES, and with a few spare buildings lying around i took this oppotunity to make a start.

Each building will be set on a 1ft sqaure board, giving me a total of 24 squares! Quite a lot of building to be done, but i'll set a few on 2ft boards as well to make some really grand buildings! But for now i'll be keeping it small.

So, here is the first one, a Mechanicus Manufactorum. Here are the work in progress pictures:

And here is the painted building. Kept it nice and simple, a very dark grey basecoat (some random spray from Halfords!) with a Fortress Grey drybrush. Then i just painted a few of the metalic areas with Boltgun Metal and Dwarf Bronze. The whole model was then airbrushed with black oil paint diluted in white spirit for shading. A bit of rust weathering powder on the exposed metal and random areas and we're done!

Quite like this terrain business, might get some more on the go! Watch this space.

Sunday, 14 November 2010

The first of my Sentinel squadrons are complete. These guys took no time at all to complete!!

However, once they were complete i felt that they were lacking something; nothing specific, just SOMETHING! They just looked like miniatures, if you know what i mean!

I spotted some medical gauze on my desk that i swiped from work and had a brainwave! I figured that these were scout sentinels, and therefore would qualify for some camo netting (although hiding a huge metal walker under a sheet is conceptually ineffective!) I'm pleased that i went for it. For me the netting really brings the models to life! You'll notice that i used the new Elysian transfers on these guys as well. A great set of transfers, fully recommended for all Elysian commanders!

Camo netting detail

The gauze was soaked in watered down PVA glue and then stretched out over the hull. I also added small strips of gauze to the main body of the netting, which received an additional wash of Devlan Mud to make them stand out a bit.

Well what next?? I've run out of models again! Although i haven't run out of cash, i have a few social events coming up which will involve considerable expenditure! All i need is a Valkyrie and another two sentinels and the army done!

I have to admit though, my thoughts have been drifting towards Dark Eldar lately! I even nipped out and bought the codex the other day while the regimental commissars weren't looking, so i wouldn't be surprised if a new army starts to emerge! Right, off to the Shrink now - need to tell him about these voices in my head that make me want to inflict extreme pain and suffering.......

Saturday, 13 November 2010

Now that all my guests have gone home, i can crack on with my beloved hobby! First on the list was the Vultures with Punisher Cannons, which are now complete!

I was a bit worried that the camo stripes would be a bit to strong, but after weathering it seems that they have calmed down a bit! Plus the large engine breaks the whole thing and I'm very pleased with the end result.

Engine detail﻿:

Vulture One

Vulture 2. I attempted to give this Vulture a forward tilt to make it look as though it is on a strafing run. I nearly butchered the flying stand completely trying to achieve this! The undercarriage of the Vulture hides the damage though!!

Nice group shot:

You'll notice that i still havent added any of the Elysian transfers yet. This is because there are a limited number of Valkerie transfers included, so i'll take another look at them once the final Valkerie is bought and completed.

Here are a few shots of the bases. Firstly theres the 'sand dune' base i mentioned in my last post. I'm happy with it, but it is just a bit TO plain i think. I may try to add some wildlife to it, a nasty scorpion or two!

Here is the base that started life as the 'straffing run' base. I really didn't like it, so i chucked a load of glue into the holes and filled them with sand. When it dried, some of the holes were still there! I went with it though and tuned them into mini impact craters. Some girders and barbed wire finished it off. I felt it was a bit of a cop-out, but at least the base is semi-interesting and in keeping with the rest!

On the table now is the 2 Elysian Sentinels. They are almost complete, so more on that tomorrow!

Sunday, 7 November 2010

Progress has been slow on the gunships due to an unfortunate bout of Man Flu (yes ladies, its much more serious than regular flu!) But today i felt much better, so set about making up for lost time.

One of the Gunships is now complete (well about 99%) I just want to add a bit of weathering powder around the exhausts and weapons once the white spirit is dry. The colour scheme matches the Valkyries and Vendetta's, giving me a nice consistent feel through the army. The only difference of course is the camo stripes on the hull. Although i want a consistent scheme, i still wanted the Vultures to stand out a bit! As usual i went with the usual weathering techniques; simple but effective! And here it is:

As for the bases, well they've been keeping me up at night! I'm really not happy with the bullet impact base, and have covered over the impact craters. Will have to go for something a bit more straight forward like a barbed wire fence or something. The sand dune base is still going ahead, i applied the milliput this evening.

Tomorrow I'll continue with the second Gunship, and hope for completion by Wednesday. Then its onto my favorite 40K models, Sentinels!

Tuesday, 2 November 2010

Well, it was my birthday yesterday and i am now the ripe old age of 26! Cue enthusiasm.....

After many years of refusing to buy toys for a grown man, my parents finally relented and bought me a pair of Elysian Drop Sentinels for my birthday! Personally i just think they're fishing for decent Christmas presents! Whatever the motive, i was chuffed!

Disaster quickly stuck however! In my haste to build the sentinels, i lost one of the feet! I was not about to pay £15 for another sentinel of which i only needed the foot, so i went and cast my own (using the one i hadn't lost!) DOH!

I also made another huge error, and that was to cut off the dashboard of one of the sentinels thinking that it was excess flash! BIG WHOOPS! Thankfully good old plasticard was there to save the day, and a new one was easily constructed! Well, it was a little ropey, but then plasticards mate Green Stuff was there to fill in (pun totally intended!)

And now they are complete and ready for painting. The bases are also ready to go as well. As usual, i used Milliput on the base to give it a bit more texture. I'll actually be keeping these guys on hold for the time being until i finish the Vultures, which brings my nicely onto my next item.....

Vulture progress! Both built, primed, camo'ed-up and one has got all of its base colours on. I'm aware that the pictures make the camo stripes look very red, but that's actually Dark Flesh and its a bit more brown in person! This was the hardest part of the painting; it just took me ages to decide on a colour for the stripes! I eventually asked my girlfriend in my desperation, and went with the Dark Flesh! Risky i know, but she came through for me (and will subsequently be getting a sweet Christmas present!)

One of the bases for these bad boys is also compete and ready to be sanded. I took a bit of a risk with this base, as I'm not sure if I'll get the effect i want out of it. It is meant to be two rows of bullet impacts in the sand from the Vultures Punisher Cannons as its on a strafing run. I'm still not sure about it, but ill sand it and paint it and see what it looks like. I'll just have to find another base if it sucks! The second Vulture base will be sand dunes, which are still currently under construction. More on that soon!